The modern game of golf originated in Scotland during the 15th century. Today, the sport enjoys massive popularity from children and casual players to professional golfers who compete for multi-million dollar payouts. Modern golf equipment includes an array of golf balls, clubs, bags, shoes, etc. Originally, golf balls were hard wooden spheres, then by the 17th and 18th centuries golf balls progressed to stuffed leather pouches. Modern golf balls first appeared in the early 19th century in the form of wound rubber balls. Inventors also discovered that placing dimples on the ball improved the trajectory of the golf ball by reducing drag the golf ball experiences during flight. The dimples also improve golf ball spin and control. Modern golf balls may include 250-450 dimples. The dimples and the golf ball must remain clean for the golf ball to function as designed.
Golf clubs have also developed since the emergence of modern golf in 15th century Scotland. Originally, golf clubs were made entirely from wood. Development of the golf club has produced clubs with metal heads and graphite shafts. Development of the golf club has also produced specialized features such as grooved heads. Club head grooves or scores allow a golfer to put more spin on the golf ball or channel water and debris away from the club face. A golf club with grooves on the club face is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,422, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. After using a golf club in the rough, creating a divot in the ground, or shooting from a bunker, the club face may accumulate dirt and debris in the club face grooves. The debris can reduce the spin effect the grooves impart on the ball, or reduce the ability to channel dirt and debris from the club face, which reduces the club's effectiveness.
Dirt and debris can also impact golf ball effectiveness. Sand bunkers, water hazards, roughs with tall grass, etc. may cause dirt and debris to accumulate in the golf ball dimples, which adversely affects golf ball aerodynamics. Therefore, golfers frequently need to clean their golf balls to maintain the flight characteristics of the golf ball.
Golf courses often provide upright golf ball washers stationed periodically throughout a golf course, often at the beginning of a hole near the tee box. Golf ball washers comprise a closed chamber with brushes and cleaning solution. An agitator assembly is disposed through the closed chamber and comprises an aperture. A golfer places a dirty golf ball in the aperture of the agitator assembly, then reciprocates the agitator assembly such that the golf ball travels into the closed body and is cleaned by the brushes and cleaning solution. While upright golf ball cleaning machines can clean golf balls, they are usually only stationed at a few locations on a golf course, typically near the tee boxes. However, golf balls can become dirty at any point on the golf course; e.g., a golfer can slice a ball into a sand bunker or rough grass at any point. It is impractical to post upright golf ball cleaners at every location where a golf ball may become dirty. Further, the brush and cleaning solution combination is not necessarily efficient when cleaning a golf ball because a golf ball may comprise 250-450 dimples. A given dimple would need to encounter several brush bristles at multiple angles. More importantly, course operators rarely change the cleaning solution in the cleaners. Thus, golfers sometimes clean their golf equipment with spit or employ other unsanitary practices, which can later contaminate the cleaning solution and the golf balls cleaners.
A golfer often carries items to clean his golf balls or clubs during play. For example, a golfer may carry a rag to wipe down a dirty golf ball. However, a rag is not efficient in cleaning out individual dimples on a golf ball, and a golfer will either have to interrupt play to clean each dimple on a golf ball or accept a dirty golf ball with inferior flight characteristics. Further, rags are rarely cleaned and golfers use spit to wet the rags, which is not sanitary.
The options for cleaning a golf club face, specifically the grooves on the club face, are even fewer than the options for cleaning a golf ball. Most golf courses do not have periodic stations for cleaning the grooves on a golf club face. Rather, a golfer must carry a brush for cleaning the club face. Further, the golfer must be careful not to use a wire-bristled brush so not to scratch or mar the club face.
Thus it is a long felt need to provide a golf equipment cleaning device that allows for easy cleaning of any piece of golf equipment. The following disclosure describes an improved golf equipment cleaning device that allows the user to clean golf equipment at any point on a golf course.